An individual will spend more time working than any other cognizant activity in their lifetime Employee Appreciation Day is Friday, March 2nd and it’s the perfect time to show some gratitude and appreciation to the hardworking individuals in your office. Richard Branson once said, “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so that they don’t want to.” Here are a few ways that you can treat your employees well this Employee Appreciation Day:

Celebrate with an Office Lunch

Whether you take your employees out to a nearby restaurant or have lunch catered, they

will appreciate the thoughtfulness of your providing them with lunch. Entrepeneur.com

boasts that employers see 150% ROI(Return on Investment) when they provide lunch as

a perk to their team. This figure is so high because providing lunch for your employees

offers the double benefit of making employees feel appreciated and also increases

productivity by boosting energy levels. Although providing lunch for the whole company

is not cheap the benefits outweigh the cost. Happier, more productive employees are

the result of showing appreciation and gratitude.

Take your Office for a Fun Activity

After sitting at their desks all day your employees may appreciate a fun, physical activity

to do together. Getting your employees moving whether this activity is bowling, skating, golf, or go-carts,anything that gives your employees a little break from all the hard work they do will show that you appreciate all the hard work that they do and let them know

that you believe they need a mental break. Jenn Hyman, founder of Rent the Runway, states “We’ve found that team members often get their best ideas when they’re out of the office with time to breathe and have fun.” Not only will your employees be appreciative of the breather, they may become more productive employees as a result of the time away from the office.

Office Olympics

With the Winter Olympics coming to a close this past week, the olympics are still fresh

on everyone’s minds. Hosting your own office olympics is a fun way to get everyone

moving and working together. Creator provides some great ideas for how to keep your

Office Olympics organized and fun for everyone. You will need to create a list of events,

such as, desk chair soccer or rubber band javelin, split up your office into teams,

perhaps by department, keep score, have a selection of prizes, but overall keep the

spirit of teamwork and comradery alive. Letting your office turn into a center for play

and games for the day will remind your employees that they are working for an

awesome company that puts their employees well-being first.

Show Gratitude Year-Round

With Employee Appreciation Day coming up now is a great time to implement a rewards

system into your company culture to provide a platform to continuously show your

employees that you care and appreciate their hard work year-round. Rewardian offers

the opportunity to provide your employees with recognitions on a platform that

the whole company utilizes and is able to recognize their peers for a job well done

on different projects. O.C. Tanner suggests that by implementing gratitude into

company culture,employees are more willing to spread their positive feelings

You invest so much time into your employees already, the magic happens when you

let it show. One way to show your employees that you appreciate them is by hosting a

happy hour. Having a successful happy hour for your office is more than just sitting down

some adult beverages and snacks, it requires carefully cultivated planning. Make sure

that the happy hour that is planned works around everyone’s projects so as not to

interfere and keep them distracted for the kind gesture you have set out as a symbol

of your gratitude. Perhaps provide some board games for entertainment and an

icebreaker to your employees so there is no awkward standing around and small

talk. Not only will your office happy hour serve as a tool to show your employees

your appreciation, it can help bond your employees.

Harvard health studies show that employees that received a message of gratitude at least once throughout the day were at least 50% more productive than those who receive no recognition. Employees who receive recognition and gratitude for a job well done are generally happier

and more productive, therefore creating a better work environment. Emergenetics.com suggests that employee recognition and appreciation can create a unique company culture and strengthen employee relationships. The end result of employees who feel appreciated is a thriving, more productive company.